>I haven't done a major upgrade since around 5 years.
>I would love to have a cool, small, energy efficient mini-itx build.
Is there any point in upgrading my mobo and cpu to one of the new cpus if I have one of 2nd gen i5 sandy bridges and everything works well including drawing software I use and the few games I have?
I don't think just the smaller TDPs and possibly smaller power bills will make it worth.
mini-ITX isn't more energy efficient.
I mean upgrading in general. My stuff is 5 years old and TDPs are almost 1/4 lower on most of CPUs nowadays and I guess faster cpu -> operations done faster -> shorter time of power drain.
and mini-itx is just my preference.
It's not worth it just for the energy saving. But if you go mini-ITX for fun, I recommend going smaller, e..g. Node 202 or SilverStone SG13. The Cooler Master CM130 is too large for my taste.
>It's not worth it just for the energy saving
OK, I understand.
There's no point to upgrade for performance either, right?
Case is not decided upon yet so thanks for the suggestions.
Performance wise it depends on what kind of games you play and what you do as the latest Kaby Lake is a good speed bump over Sandy Bridge. If you're not running the overclockable i5-2500K, it's definitely worth it to get a i5-7600K or a i7-7700K.
>everything works well
Yes, you certainly need an upgrade.
Why would he overclock if he's trying to save power?
I wouldn't bother until I needed it.
but I do need an upgrade an I'm going to build an A4-SFX as soon as they're available again.
I bought a ITX case but ended up dropping it as I couldn't find a kaby lake 1151 mobo at all for it. Back to mATX I guess.
Mini-ITX are smaller than towers, but large enough to be bothersome. They also overheat like a laptop. If you want to go small, get an Intel NUC. You'll still have the overheating issues, but they're a fraction of the size.
I have Node 304 and OP's cooler master on my desk right now (don't ask why)
Cooler master sucks because it has no space for a decent CPU cooler while leaving a lot of empty space in front even if you have a DVD drive and three hard drives. Also the PSU protrudes from the rear, and the case is pretty long even without that.
Node 304 is cable management hell with a full length two slot GPU and a big CPU cooler, but it's appreciably smaller than any mATX case and can actually keep cool and quiet with a 100W CPU and a 150W GPU.
>overheat like a laptop
Got an Ncase M1 with a 1080 and a [email protected] in it. No thermal throttling.
That looks super cute, but €230 for a case is a bit too much.
Also, can you really run a 30cm flexible extender from a PCI-E slot like that without getting any interference issues?
There ARE mITX cases that can overheat like a laptop. But they're as small as a laptop, too.
I considered building a Mini-ITX system with the Fractal Design Define Nano S for the case. However, the lack of GPU airflow space has put me off it completely, which sucks.
What would be the best alternative, considering I currently have a pretty small GPU. NCASE M1?
>can't fit regular heatsink
Into the trash it goes.
>Fractal Design Define Nano S
Nano S was a mistake. They have Core 500 and Node 304 with roughly the same volume but less retarded GPU/PSU layout.
Problem is, I personally just don't like how both those cases look.
I'm even thinking about just going towards a MicroATX build with the Define Mini C, just because I really like the shape of the case.
>tiny case can't fit a full height heatsink
No shit, Sherlock.
But if you want a 4core desktop CPU in 1/20 of the volume of a regular mATX case, you don't have much choice.
You can custom loop and put a 240mm rad in an Ncase, or a 240mm AiO if you're lazy
>can you really run a 30cm flexible extender from a PCI-E slot like that without getting any interference issues?
You can if the riser costs $80. Which is one reason the case costs so much.